OUTTAKES

Sounds Familiar

What's behind the full-page ad in the trade papers the other day in which Hemdale Film Corp. "acknowledges the works of Harlan Ellison" following a "dispute" regarding "The Terminator"? Why does a similar acknowledgement appear at the end of the new "Terminator" videocassette and on prints destined for cable TV?

Derek Gibson, Hemdale executive vice president, conceded it was a copyright infringement dispute--"at least that's what Harlan alleged"--but said neither side was supposed to discuss the matter publicly.

Ellison would only ask, "Are you familiar with a story I once wrote for 'The Outer Limits' about a soldier of the future who is brought back to fight in the present?"

Note: Ellison's lawyer is Henry Holmes, who got him $352,000 several years ago from ABC and Paramount TV in a conflict over ABC's "Future Cop" series and Ellison's and Ben Bova's short story, "Brillo," which Ellison once adapted for ABC--about a robot cop.